SLIP ON SNOW, NO HARD HAT

Alberta, Rocky Mountains, Mount Haddo

After a successful ascent of Mt. Haddo (3071 meters) on September 16, a party of three were descending a gully system toward Paradise Valley from the Haddo-Aber- deen saddle, when the highest climber lost his footing on the snow and slid onto the others, knocking them down. They all stopped eventually, but the climber who fell first suffered an injury to his head when he struck it on a rock. The climbers had removed their helmets for the descent. One companion hiked out and alerted Parks Canada officials, and the victim and the third party member were evacuated by helicopter later that day.

Analysis

As snow softens later in the day, the potential for slipping and then rapidly accelerating increases. In this instance, keeping the helmets on for the descent may have lessened the injuries. (Source: Marc Ledwidge, Banff National Park Warden Service)